Brighton and Hove secures £4.7 million government funding for fire safety in council homes
Councillor Gill Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing at Brighton and Hove City Council. Photo: Brighton and Hove City Council
Brighton and Hove secures £4.7 million government funding for fire safety work in council homes
Brighton and Hove City Council has secured £4.7 million in government building safety funding to carry out fire safety improvements on the outer walls of some of its high-rise council homes, with the total expected to rise to just over £6 million as more buildings are confirmed.
The money comes from the government's Homes England Cladding Safety Scheme, a national programme that funds work on external walls of residential buildings in England to meet stricter standards under the Building Safety Act and Fire Safety (England) Regulations. To date the council has received £4,672,500 in pre-tender funding for seven blocks, with an eighth confirmed as eligible and a ninth anticipated, taking the expected total to £6,007,500.
The blocks that have had funding approved are Livingstone House, four blocks on the Bristol Estate named Hazel, Hollyhock, Cherry, Damson and Viscaria, St James House, and Normanhurst on the Albion Hill estate. Each block has been awarded £667,500. The funding covers the early stage of the work, appointing a specialist team of fire engineers, façade engineers, surveyors and consultants to design the improvements and prepare the tender for the building work that follows.
Importantly, the council has stressed there is no immediate risk to residents. None of its blocks have the type of cladding that was on Grenfell Tower, and none use Aluminium Composite Material. The work relates to elements of external and curtain walls, replacing older spandrel and balcony infill panels and panelling around some stairwells, where materials may pose a higher risk of fire spread. Where that is the case, the council has already put additional measures in place such as upgraded fire alarm systems, alongside flat entrance doors, signage and ongoing fire risk assessments carried out with East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.
Councillors will discuss the plans when Cabinet meets on Monday 29 June, where they are being asked to approve a Housing Revenue Account capital budget of £6,007,500, funded entirely by the Homes England grant, and to appoint the specialist team to get the work moving. Homes England has set a tight timetable, expecting the project team to be in place within a month of the first payment, so early approval is being sought to keep pace. The report also asks councillors to approve a separate fire safety framework contract worth £11.5 million over four years, which the council says will let it use more local contractors and consolidate its fire safety work under one competitively tendered arrangement.
The funding follows a letter from Councillor Gill Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing, to the government in July 2024 requesting dedicated funding for health, safety and regulatory work in social housing. The full Improving Fire Safety in Council Homes report is available on the council's website ahead of the 29 June Cabinet meeting.
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